In the early hours he heard a noise and thought an intruder had come through a bathroom window and was hiding there. He felt vulnerable and shouted for the intruder to get out and for Ms Steenkamp to call police.

It was dark and Pistorius thought Ms Steenkamp was lying on her bed, not that she was in the bathroom. He wanted to protect her.

Pistorius hobbled to the bathroom on his stumps and fired his gun, a 9mm pistol he kept under his bed because he had received death threats.

After the shooting, he returned to his bed and saw that Ms Steenkamp was not there.

He shouted for help, broke open a door with a cricket bat and found her still alive. He carried her downstairs.

He had got up to fetch a fan from the balcony when he heard the noise in the toilet earlier, which is why he did not notice Ms Steenkamp was not on the bed.